Best engine for weekend thrash car !?!
Discussion
Firstly, i'm new to the whole mini thing so hi all.
Selling my TVR to buy a house so am looking for a cheaper car with the same thrill factor ! Always wanted a mini for my first car but never got 1 so nows as good a time as any.
I'm looking for somthing to use as a second car (weekend thrash down country lanes and a few track days). Am i dreaming when i say id like to scare a few scooby owners !?! I'm totally lost with the amount of conversions out there so am looking for some advice on which is considered best. Ive got roughly £7K to biuld up a full car (would like to play with suspension/brakes/fit cage and buckets out of this aswell) although may look out for an unfinished project with some work already done.
I like the idea of the Vauxhall and Honda engined kits but is it true they really mess up the handling of the mini ? Also if this is the case with the Vauxhall lump only putting out 150bhp and weighing alot more wouldnt the vmaxscart bmw blower conversion be better in terms of value for money and performance ?
Also any advice on 1380/1430 kits aswell as 8 ports or metro turbo's would be great !
Selling my TVR to buy a house so am looking for a cheaper car with the same thrill factor ! Always wanted a mini for my first car but never got 1 so nows as good a time as any.
I'm looking for somthing to use as a second car (weekend thrash down country lanes and a few track days). Am i dreaming when i say id like to scare a few scooby owners !?! I'm totally lost with the amount of conversions out there so am looking for some advice on which is considered best. Ive got roughly £7K to biuld up a full car (would like to play with suspension/brakes/fit cage and buckets out of this aswell) although may look out for an unfinished project with some work already done.
I like the idea of the Vauxhall and Honda engined kits but is it true they really mess up the handling of the mini ? Also if this is the case with the Vauxhall lump only putting out 150bhp and weighing alot more wouldnt the vmaxscart bmw blower conversion be better in terms of value for money and performance ?
Also any advice on 1380/1430 kits aswell as 8 ports or metro turbo's would be great !
Forget Arden heads, either look at BMW bike heads or forced induction.
I'm running a hillclimb spec 1380 at the moment which is great fun but a bit of a pain in traffic for what you get. Visualise pulling the choke out in queue's, hill pull aways with right foot on the brake and throttle keeping it from stalling. Great fun to drive to work though.
I reckon about 140hp is the way to go, look at a decent head (BMW 16V) low boost and the biggest capacity with a balanced CR.
Any more than that and it starts getting expensive, plus, if you are getting 190hp out of a mini, you might be better with a Sylva Striker or something
I'm running a hillclimb spec 1380 at the moment which is great fun but a bit of a pain in traffic for what you get. Visualise pulling the choke out in queue's, hill pull aways with right foot on the brake and throttle keeping it from stalling. Great fun to drive to work though.
I reckon about 140hp is the way to go, look at a decent head (BMW 16V) low boost and the biggest capacity with a balanced CR.
Any more than that and it starts getting expensive, plus, if you are getting 190hp out of a mini, you might be better with a Sylva Striker or something
Edited by love machine on Wednesday 13th December 23:50
You might want to check this out if frightening really expensive motors is your thing...
http://mini.lyons-it.co.uk/
These lads are nutters...
The problem is that if you want to drive it down the lanes and on the road, there is a conflict with the desire for a really high power output. Personally I don't really like the re-engined cars, but maybe that's because in the motorsport I do, historic rallying in the case of the Mini, the block must be the original and only period mods are allowed.
It's a basic engineering problem really and the heart of the problem lies not in the engine, but in the transmission. To run high power outputs, that's over about 115 bhp in my opinion, you really do need a straight cut close ratio gear set and straight cut drop gears. To run these with a 'cammy' engine means lowering the final drive to around 3.9:1 which then only gives about 14.5 mph/1000 rpm in top on the optimum 10" wheels (the size for best handling). To keep some reliability the max revs will need to be about 7000.
With the weight down to c.610 kg (plastic windows, not much trim, etc) and with 115 bhp you'll have a quick car, but beware the temptation to fit an LSD if you want to use the car on the road - they are really nasty in the wet or on the loose and in the lanes can be downright dangerous. For example, if you put one pair of wheels into the edge or onto the grass and put the power on to keep the front in front, it'll pull the car into the ditch (yes, I do speak from experience, but not mine!).
With regard to capacity, going out to +0.060" giving 1330 cc is a very good compromise. I would go to a 286 cam if any road use, or use in the lanes is contemplated, with either twin 1.5" SU's or a 45 DCOE Weber. Maybe don't go for the biggest valves, 35.5 mm will give a good result and are best if unleaded valve seats are fitted. The comp. ratio of around 10.8:1 or 11:1 is good for the 'A-Series' and an 'A-Plus block and crank will be best as the basic engine. For pistons the Hepolite 21253 are really good value.
You'll need a good exhaust with big-bore LCB and the twin-box Maniflow with centre-exit is excellent, although the RC40 is a bit quieter, but less strong.
If you want to email me privately I'll let you have the full spec of my car and maybe some other suggestions for building in reliability as well as getting respectable power.
Remember, however, the more power you put in, the less transmission reliability you'll have, the gearbox being the real 'Achilles Heel' of the Mini.
It's a basic engineering problem really and the heart of the problem lies not in the engine, but in the transmission. To run high power outputs, that's over about 115 bhp in my opinion, you really do need a straight cut close ratio gear set and straight cut drop gears. To run these with a 'cammy' engine means lowering the final drive to around 3.9:1 which then only gives about 14.5 mph/1000 rpm in top on the optimum 10" wheels (the size for best handling). To keep some reliability the max revs will need to be about 7000.
With the weight down to c.610 kg (plastic windows, not much trim, etc) and with 115 bhp you'll have a quick car, but beware the temptation to fit an LSD if you want to use the car on the road - they are really nasty in the wet or on the loose and in the lanes can be downright dangerous. For example, if you put one pair of wheels into the edge or onto the grass and put the power on to keep the front in front, it'll pull the car into the ditch (yes, I do speak from experience, but not mine!).
With regard to capacity, going out to +0.060" giving 1330 cc is a very good compromise. I would go to a 286 cam if any road use, or use in the lanes is contemplated, with either twin 1.5" SU's or a 45 DCOE Weber. Maybe don't go for the biggest valves, 35.5 mm will give a good result and are best if unleaded valve seats are fitted. The comp. ratio of around 10.8:1 or 11:1 is good for the 'A-Series' and an 'A-Plus block and crank will be best as the basic engine. For pistons the Hepolite 21253 are really good value.
You'll need a good exhaust with big-bore LCB and the twin-box Maniflow with centre-exit is excellent, although the RC40 is a bit quieter, but less strong.
If you want to email me privately I'll let you have the full spec of my car and maybe some other suggestions for building in reliability as well as getting respectable power.
Remember, however, the more power you put in, the less transmission reliability you'll have, the gearbox being the real 'Achilles Heel' of the Mini.
id agree with pete
build your self a nice reliable 5 porter, and enjoy the handeling that a well sorted mini with reasonable performance offers.
i (and many of my mates) have made the mistakes of jumping into the 'massive is best' with straight cut this and stupid cam that, all you end up with is a noisy, undrivable and unreliable peice of junk that spends more time in bits than on the road.
anything more than 130 bhp will cost in the region of 6-7 grand to build a reliable unit that will hold together for any reasonable length of time - its not just the cost of the basic block, but the head, box, diff and ancilleraires that many people forget about.
the bm head is a option, but personally having nearly finished a 8v conversion, i think it is massivley overated and is yet to be proven to be reliable or powerful, there are only a couple of honest running examples in the uk (jim lyons, those site was listed above is one of them, jim started his conversion after me, but got his finger out!) there are no high lift cams avalible and i doubt the conversion offers the same economic value that a well built 5 porter does - this is why my conversion sits 80% finished in $hite corner in my garage, along with a bm eaton supercharger and other aborted waste of time projects that i ocasionaly find my self tinkering with.
as for minis with other engines in them, why bother?
if you want a vtec, buy a civic - its a far better chassis for a engine producing that sort of power
build your self a nice reliable 5 porter, and enjoy the handeling that a well sorted mini with reasonable performance offers.
i (and many of my mates) have made the mistakes of jumping into the 'massive is best' with straight cut this and stupid cam that, all you end up with is a noisy, undrivable and unreliable peice of junk that spends more time in bits than on the road.
anything more than 130 bhp will cost in the region of 6-7 grand to build a reliable unit that will hold together for any reasonable length of time - its not just the cost of the basic block, but the head, box, diff and ancilleraires that many people forget about.
the bm head is a option, but personally having nearly finished a 8v conversion, i think it is massivley overated and is yet to be proven to be reliable or powerful, there are only a couple of honest running examples in the uk (jim lyons, those site was listed above is one of them, jim started his conversion after me, but got his finger out!) there are no high lift cams avalible and i doubt the conversion offers the same economic value that a well built 5 porter does - this is why my conversion sits 80% finished in $hite corner in my garage, along with a bm eaton supercharger and other aborted waste of time projects that i ocasionaly find my self tinkering with.
as for minis with other engines in them, why bother?
if you want a vtec, buy a civic - its a far better chassis for a engine producing that sort of power
id just like to add that ive been out in a vtec mini and it was awful, sure, it went stupidly fast, but had no feel, it was boot it, scrabble for grip, weave along the road, snatch another gear, stamp the brakes on. there was no enjoyment, no soul, it may as well have been, well, a civic - its probably one of the least enjoyable minis ive ever been in
turbo minis are expensive, i only know of a few that are capable, able cars, but doubt that any of them really make anywhere near the claimed 180-200 bhp, sure on a rolling road, where the boost is wound up carefully whilst a operator loads the dyno up the gauge can be made to show any figure the customer wants.
i think the most telling thing about turbos was a few conversation i had with a good customer of mine who raced metro turbos when it was a fresh new series. the stuff that the works (never mind some 20 year old lad) had to do to a mg metro turbo just to get a reliable engine making @130 bhp capable of lasting more than 20 minuites beggers beleif, from EN40B cranks, special gear kits, and more importantly lifing of every componant in the engine
strangley one of the best a series engined cars ive ever been in was a 1460 8 port, this car was again, possibly one of the worst handeling minis ive ever been in 13" wheels, nuff said!) , but the pure grunt and shove the 8 port had over a normal 5 port really was amazing, the thing was so damm smooth, it pulled from nothing and reved to silly o clock. still i guess thats what bills of 15 grand plus gives you......
until i went in this car id always asumed that a 8 port was nothing more than showing the world that you had too much money, after it i understood that it must have been a revalation when it was made - amazing, one day i will have one!
its funny, but i get more pleasure out my little 1071cc road car than any other mini (bar a few 850cc ones ive had) its got just enough power to exploit the handeling, but none of the things that spoil what a mini should be, it doesnt scrabble for grip, overheat, run on, blow up every month, eat headgaskets, yet its able to keep up with my saxo vts on twisty roads, in fact, i think it could possibly be hussled along quicker if i dared.
before you all laugh at ownership of a saxo vts, its the cooper s of its day, just enough power for its handeling, pridictable, chuckable and fun.
any funnily enough, spolit by many of its owners by the addition of big wheels, lowering kits, rock hard suspension, rorty exhausts and the like.
its right out the box.
just like a mini, less, is sometimes more
nuff said!
turbo minis are expensive, i only know of a few that are capable, able cars, but doubt that any of them really make anywhere near the claimed 180-200 bhp, sure on a rolling road, where the boost is wound up carefully whilst a operator loads the dyno up the gauge can be made to show any figure the customer wants.
i think the most telling thing about turbos was a few conversation i had with a good customer of mine who raced metro turbos when it was a fresh new series. the stuff that the works (never mind some 20 year old lad) had to do to a mg metro turbo just to get a reliable engine making @130 bhp capable of lasting more than 20 minuites beggers beleif, from EN40B cranks, special gear kits, and more importantly lifing of every componant in the engine
strangley one of the best a series engined cars ive ever been in was a 1460 8 port, this car was again, possibly one of the worst handeling minis ive ever been in 13" wheels, nuff said!) , but the pure grunt and shove the 8 port had over a normal 5 port really was amazing, the thing was so damm smooth, it pulled from nothing and reved to silly o clock. still i guess thats what bills of 15 grand plus gives you......
until i went in this car id always asumed that a 8 port was nothing more than showing the world that you had too much money, after it i understood that it must have been a revalation when it was made - amazing, one day i will have one!
its funny, but i get more pleasure out my little 1071cc road car than any other mini (bar a few 850cc ones ive had) its got just enough power to exploit the handeling, but none of the things that spoil what a mini should be, it doesnt scrabble for grip, overheat, run on, blow up every month, eat headgaskets, yet its able to keep up with my saxo vts on twisty roads, in fact, i think it could possibly be hussled along quicker if i dared.
before you all laugh at ownership of a saxo vts, its the cooper s of its day, just enough power for its handeling, pridictable, chuckable and fun.
any funnily enough, spolit by many of its owners by the addition of big wheels, lowering kits, rock hard suspension, rorty exhausts and the like.
its right out the box.
just like a mini, less, is sometimes more
nuff said!
Personally id have a well built 1380, have all the internals lightened - rods ,crank, flywheel, backplate and then balanced. Camshaft would be a SW5 or MED HT type . Stick on a well worked unleaded head, 1.5 roller rockers , twin 1.5 carbs. gearbox would be CR straight cut. Standard drops. 3.44 or 3.65 ratio diff with 4pin guts. Single box RC40 exhaust.
I ran a spec similar to this for 3 years daily without any problems as in none ! . What you will have is a very fast , very reliable mini
that is road drivable but will quite easily keep up with most non-turbo chav mobiles and will suprise a lot of folk on the race track. it will have the torque to pull well enough, and rev through to 6500(enough for any non-race car) I now have a full race 1460 5 port 649 cammed engine - sure its got over 100 bhp(at the wheels)its proper fast as f*ck and realy flies (sometimes i think its tooo fast) but its sat in the garage cos its a lumpy un drivable race engine , simply too fast for the road, im not knocking it (it does wot it says on the tin) but i think i had more "fun" with the 1380 with well set up suspension 10" wheels (a must) IMHO
Rich
I ran a spec similar to this for 3 years daily without any problems as in none ! . What you will have is a very fast , very reliable mini
that is road drivable but will quite easily keep up with most non-turbo chav mobiles and will suprise a lot of folk on the race track. it will have the torque to pull well enough, and rev through to 6500(enough for any non-race car) I now have a full race 1460 5 port 649 cammed engine - sure its got over 100 bhp(at the wheels)its proper fast as f*ck and realy flies (sometimes i think its tooo fast) but its sat in the garage cos its a lumpy un drivable race engine , simply too fast for the road, im not knocking it (it does wot it says on the tin) but i think i had more "fun" with the 1380 with well set up suspension 10" wheels (a must) IMHO
Rich
Agree with Rich 100%. Personally I would only go to 1330, i.e. +0.060" as that's a standard oversize and the Hepolite 21253's are fine for the job and don't cost a fortune either. But, hey, the extra capacity will give about 5 bhp more, so if it's the best possible power you want, then 1380 is the way to go. For the road you'll probably not notice that 5 bhp.
My rally 'S' gives 117 bhp at the flywheel and is very tractable on the road, pulling from about 2500 right through to 7000 with its 286 cam. Well, it does when it's on the road, ut it's still waiting to have the 'oil in the water' problem, which I posted about earlier this year, finally sorted plus the new lay shaft to replace the new one which managed just one rally before giving up! I've been a bit busy building some engines for other people and doing my Rover raly car, plus my grandson's Mini Mayfair project (as seen on TV!).
My rally 'S' gives 117 bhp at the flywheel and is very tractable on the road, pulling from about 2500 right through to 7000 with its 286 cam. Well, it does when it's on the road, ut it's still waiting to have the 'oil in the water' problem, which I posted about earlier this year, finally sorted plus the new lay shaft to replace the new one which managed just one rally before giving up! I've been a bit busy building some engines for other people and doing my Rover raly car, plus my grandson's Mini Mayfair project (as seen on TV!).
Some Top posts here.
Once the engine is in (make sure the brakes are up to the job) and the car is set-up from the point of view of being lowered and a bit of neg camber added, get the car 4-wheel aligned. Don't make the mistake of making the car too stiff - It'll just compromise your enjoyment of the car.
A personal oppinion only - keep the body mods discreet - A Mini Sleeper or wolf in sheeps clothing is the way forward. Nice set of 10/12" wheels and some diddy arches only and away you go.
Can't beat blowing off people in a Mini City or Mini Sprite
I only added cooper bonnet stripes because the missus insisted!
Once the engine is in (make sure the brakes are up to the job) and the car is set-up from the point of view of being lowered and a bit of neg camber added, get the car 4-wheel aligned. Don't make the mistake of making the car too stiff - It'll just compromise your enjoyment of the car.
A personal oppinion only - keep the body mods discreet - A Mini Sleeper or wolf in sheeps clothing is the way forward. Nice set of 10/12" wheels and some diddy arches only and away you go.
Can't beat blowing off people in a Mini City or Mini Sprite
I only added cooper bonnet stripes because the missus insisted!
I had a 1275GT with a Piper 270, HIF44, MG Metro inlet, Maniflow LCB, single box RC40 and a ported head with standard valves running on a 1293cc block with MG Metro pistons.
It was a little bomber and probided three years of absolutely flat out motoring without breaking anything. It also cost next to nothing to build.
If I was to do it again I would run the same spec, but with a Piper 285 cam and a big valve 5 port head.
10" wheels are definitely a must.
Much more than 100bhp and the torque steer and limited grip start to detract from the pleasure.
I am thinking about selling my current 1275GT, but threads like this really fire my enthusiasm.
Maybe I'll keep the old girl.
It was a little bomber and probided three years of absolutely flat out motoring without breaking anything. It also cost next to nothing to build.
If I was to do it again I would run the same spec, but with a Piper 285 cam and a big valve 5 port head.
10" wheels are definitely a must.
Much more than 100bhp and the torque steer and limited grip start to detract from the pleasure.
I am thinking about selling my current 1275GT, but threads like this really fire my enthusiasm.
Maybe I'll keep the old girl.
Cheers guys,
some great info.
Gona wait and have a go in a mates 1380 when its finished in the next few days and see what i think to that.
1380cc
stage 3 head
webber 45
mild cam
lightened fly etc..
12 " wheels
KAD 4 pots
standard suspension !?!?
Also another guy i know has a 1380 as a hillclimb car running 125bhp at the wheels. Very quick but has to rebuild the head every 2/3 meetings. Could do with a touch more reliability than that !!
Really like the idea of 10" wheels and a 1430 with k1100 head (if i can find one). Saw a guy on the net selling the conversion kit to do it.
some great info.
Gona wait and have a go in a mates 1380 when its finished in the next few days and see what i think to that.
1380cc
stage 3 head
webber 45
mild cam
lightened fly etc..
12 " wheels
KAD 4 pots
standard suspension !?!?
Also another guy i know has a 1380 as a hillclimb car running 125bhp at the wheels. Very quick but has to rebuild the head every 2/3 meetings. Could do with a touch more reliability than that !!
Really like the idea of 10" wheels and a 1430 with k1100 head (if i can find one). Saw a guy on the net selling the conversion kit to do it.
In terms of heads, expressions like 'Stage 3' mean nothing really.
If you gas-flow a 12G940 head by opening up a bit around the shrouded areas adjacent to the valve circumference, take away the very restrictive valve guide bosses, smooth out the inlet tracts (especially the 'short-side radius), open out the exhaust tracts a bit , fit 35.5 mm inlets and raise the comp ratio to around 10.7:1 you'll have a very workable head. What any 'Stage' number has to do with this is anyones guess. One head modifier might call a head with that spec Stage 1, or Stage 2, or Stage 3; whichever he thinks will enable him to sell it for the most cash! Sorry, I'm being a bit cynical there, but you get the point, I'm sure. I usually do my own heads and my cars always seem to go OK, but I don't go 'over the top' with the porting and common sense will tell you how far to go once you've done a few (and gone through the push rod holes a couple of times!).
If you gas-flow a 12G940 head by opening up a bit around the shrouded areas adjacent to the valve circumference, take away the very restrictive valve guide bosses, smooth out the inlet tracts (especially the 'short-side radius), open out the exhaust tracts a bit , fit 35.5 mm inlets and raise the comp ratio to around 10.7:1 you'll have a very workable head. What any 'Stage' number has to do with this is anyones guess. One head modifier might call a head with that spec Stage 1, or Stage 2, or Stage 3; whichever he thinks will enable him to sell it for the most cash! Sorry, I'm being a bit cynical there, but you get the point, I'm sure. I usually do my own heads and my cars always seem to go OK, but I don't go 'over the top' with the porting and common sense will tell you how far to go once you've done a few (and gone through the push rod holes a couple of times!).
I can see exactly were your coming from, this is some of the info he got with the engine. As you have said there is no set spec for a stage 1/2/3 head. But for someone like me, plant fitter by trade (no nothing to do with daises !) but never had chance to play about with porting/flowing heads etc.. it gives a bit of a guideline. It all seems abit trial and error until you've tried a few and picked up on what works etc..
I'm happy to build an engine up and play about with different parts but would not be as confident when it came to head work but still suppose you've got to try sometime !!
I'm happy to build an engine up and play about with different parts but would not be as confident when it came to head work but still suppose you've got to try sometime !!
The 'A-Series' head is one of the easiest with which to really make an improvement, mainly because it's so bloody awful to begin with!
You need a die-grinder and a good selection of quality grinding tips and some flap wheels. Take a look in Vizard's book for the best information and don't try to go too far on an early attempt. Unless you want a full-race head, in which case a flow bench is a decided advantage, you can get good results yourself for very little expenditure. a12G940 casting in not expensive - I've got loads of them - and if you do really screw-up, all you've really wasted are a few man hours.
Just smoothing out the lumps and opening up the inlet throats in the area of the valve guide bosses will gain you a lot with the right cam fitted.
I've seen some really good commercial heads, from people like MED, but also there are some really crap ones around. I once bought one from a very well-known Mini company and I specified that it was for a 1071 'S'. Luckily I checked the combustion chamber volumes before fitting it as the volumes were for a 1275 and on a 1071 it would have come up with a comp. ratio of about 7:1. I had to strip it and get it skimmed again which I did rather than send it back to a company I could't trust. Since then I've done all my own head work.
The sequence is:
Strip head and port/polish.
Fit new valve guides and ream.
Have valve seats lightly faced
Lap in all valves, do a trial assembly, including measuring the fitted length of the valve springs, checking that the fitted length is within tolerance (it almost always is) and measure the existing combustion chamber volumes, making sure that they are all equal to within +/- 0.5cc (0.25cc on a full race head).
Calculate the new volume required to give the desired comp ratio.
Fill a combustion chamber with paraffin to that required volume and measure the distance from the head face to the surface of the fluid.
Machine that amount from the head face.
Re-assemble and fit.
You need a die-grinder and a good selection of quality grinding tips and some flap wheels. Take a look in Vizard's book for the best information and don't try to go too far on an early attempt. Unless you want a full-race head, in which case a flow bench is a decided advantage, you can get good results yourself for very little expenditure. a12G940 casting in not expensive - I've got loads of them - and if you do really screw-up, all you've really wasted are a few man hours.
Just smoothing out the lumps and opening up the inlet throats in the area of the valve guide bosses will gain you a lot with the right cam fitted.
I've seen some really good commercial heads, from people like MED, but also there are some really crap ones around. I once bought one from a very well-known Mini company and I specified that it was for a 1071 'S'. Luckily I checked the combustion chamber volumes before fitting it as the volumes were for a 1275 and on a 1071 it would have come up with a comp. ratio of about 7:1. I had to strip it and get it skimmed again which I did rather than send it back to a company I could't trust. Since then I've done all my own head work.
The sequence is:
Strip head and port/polish.
Fit new valve guides and ream.
Have valve seats lightly faced
Lap in all valves, do a trial assembly, including measuring the fitted length of the valve springs, checking that the fitted length is within tolerance (it almost always is) and measure the existing combustion chamber volumes, making sure that they are all equal to within +/- 0.5cc (0.25cc on a full race head).
Calculate the new volume required to give the desired comp ratio.
Fill a combustion chamber with paraffin to that required volume and measure the distance from the head face to the surface of the fluid.
Machine that amount from the head face.
Re-assemble and fit.
guru_1071 said:
turbo minis are expensive, i only know of a few that are capable, able cars, but doubt that any of them really make anywhere near the claimed 180-200 bhp, sure on a rolling road, where the boost is wound up carefully whilst a operator loads the dyno up the gauge can be made to show any figure the customer wants.
bah. I spent less than £3000 building mine (including buying the car and the new shell) and it has 142bhp, and can be used daily. they're great fun. 1380's are cool, but lack the torquey shove of a turbo!
Altrezia said:
guru_1071 said:
turbo minis are expensive, i only know of a few that are capable, able cars, but doubt that any of them really make anywhere near the claimed 180-200 bhp, sure on a rolling road, where the boost is wound up carefully whilst a operator loads the dyno up the gauge can be made to show any figure the customer wants.
bah. I spent less than £3000 building mine (including buying the car and the new shell) and it has 142bhp, and can be used daily. they're great fun. 1380's are cool, but lack the torquey shove of a turbo!
I think i'd agree with you there too.. I have a 1380 Webber Alpha injected Mini and a 1330cc turbo (carb) Mini. I much prefer the turbo.
The problem is having a good enough gearbox to handle the torque.
P,
Mine is a 1293cc, morspeed big valve head, and slightly modified metro turbo pistons (slightly more dish)
I've only got a standard (although very very low mileage) mini gearbox at the moment, bought from Rover 2000 miles before I bought it. On the current boost level, I think it should last a while. certainly no signs of dying yet. Mechanical sympathy is a must, though.
I've only got a standard (although very very low mileage) mini gearbox at the moment, bought from Rover 2000 miles before I bought it. On the current boost level, I think it should last a while. certainly no signs of dying yet. Mechanical sympathy is a must, though.
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